Like no other country I've been in, Australia has a backpacker circuit that seems to draw backpackers inexorably along from one hostel to the next, and from one activity to the next. My next few days highlighted this more than any so far, and it started when I arrived at Agnes Water, a kind of twin settlement with the neighbouring Town of 1770 (which is not as grand or historic as the name suggests... it's just where Captain Cook stopped for a picnic). There's one thing to do here, and that's the Scooteroo, where backpackers pay to don leathers and tour the town on choppers. It looks pretty cool, and it's sold on the premise that everyone does it. I didn't, so I spent a happy day and a bit at a relaxed hostel making new ... read more

My trip to Brisbane started with an interesting encounter in a McDonald's (I know I know, but they have free wi-fi!). There was a used newspaper on the table next to me. A man came up, read the cover, and banged his fists on it, then went away and returned with a pen, drawing two big crosses through the front cover. I moved over to see what the cover story was... a photo of two Sri Lankan refugees, who'd been caught on one of the many boats trying to enter Australia from the north. Immigration is a sensitive issue in Australia, and provokes a lot of feeling in some people. I was only planning a brief visit to Brissy, a city known for it's year-round good climate, lifestyle and gambling. But my short stay was going ... read more

I was hoping it would be second time lucky when I went to collect my hire car. And it was, so Alex and I drove Zak (a Hyundai Getz in a very fetching shade of blue) out of Sydney city centre (out first turn was, of course, wrong) via Harbour Bridge - which is actually the country's busiest road. Alex's chronic inability to read maps blew us slightly off course (joking Honky... it wasn't all your fault), but we eventually found our way north to the koala centre at Pennant Hills. Alex wanted to see some Australian critters, and I wanted to see some koalas. The koala centre is actually home to far more than koalas... it houses wombats, cockatoos, echidnas, emus, cassowaries and all manner of kangaroos and wallabies - including their bastard child (?) ... read more

By a stroke of great luck and generosity on the part of Hannah, I had the offer of a lift to the Snowy Mountains, a place I'd planned to go with the car but thought I'd have to ditch now that I was chained to public transport. We booked into a hostel at Thredbo and covered the 550km journey in a day. Switzerland, the Snowies are not. For most of the approach from the east, they weren't really visible, but then we arrived at Jindabyne, a pleasant town set on a large lake, and we were now surrounded by wooded hills - a gentle rather than rugged type of scenery. Thredbo is principally a ski resort, but we were there out of season so there was no snow to be seen (Snowies without the snow... hmm). ... read more

Our arrival in Tasmania's capital city, Hobart, was a subdued affair... it was late afternoon, the sky was grey and we'd had a bit of trouble finding a parking space close to the hostel to leave our car. But we had a wander round the town centre and waterfront before finding some food. It's a small city, just 200,000 inhabitants, with some lovely old buildings and an attractive setting. But I wasn't really on Tassie to see cities, so I booked onto a trip out to Bruny Island, about an hour south of Hobart, for the following day. Nick decided to stay in Hobart for the day, so I set off in the car to have breakfast overlooking the marina at Kettering, the launching point for the Bruny Island ferry. Bruny Island is actually two islands ... read more